New Beginnings
by hannah.pages
Summary: Abigail wakes to find herself in a hospital, and the news that her father is in jail for a horrible crime. She meets a new friend, however, named Tadashi. Though his past is unknown to her, she soon learns that he has links with her dad. Meanwhile, Big Hero 6 has taken on some new enemies; some they may not be able to control... This is rated T mostly for thematic elements.
1. Chapter 1

Abigail's eyes fluttered open softly. Everything looked like a big white blur. All around beeps from machines rung in her ears. The smell of sterile cleaning, and bed sheets filled her nose. Was this the hospital? It had to be; where else had the stench of an entire bottle of floor cleaner dumped carelessly onto the ground?

A bluish blob, which Abigail guessed to be a nurse, came in and then quickly scurried out. A few minutes later, she returned with another discolored blob.  
"You're finally awake." The doctor sighed in relief.

She attempted to clear her raspy throat, but it felt as if it was out of use; like a rusty pipe. "How long have I been out?" She croaked.

"Is that including your hyper-sleep in space or just your arrival to this medical center?"

"Since I got back, I guess."

"Just about five months."

She sat up in alarm, "Months?" There was no way! The whole thing seemed like days...even minutes. Then she remembered the last thing she saw before slipping into a coma, "What about my father?"

Abigail's vision had started to clear up, and she could see the nurse give an eerie look towards the doctor. "I'm afraid he's been in jail the whole time that you've been here and, as far as I know, he still has a few years in prison.  
This was all too much. What had her father done to deserve that? She had never known him to be an unreasonable man. Whatever it was it had to do with her being rescued from that travel pod.

"May I go see him?"

The doctor smiled sympathetically, "I'm sure you're anxious to see him, but you are still not fully recovered. Also, we have to make sure that your extended stay in the coma didn't do any permanent damage. It would not be wise to send you out of this facility quite yet, but we can start rehabilitation as soon as you're ready."

Abigail pursed her lips. All she wanted to do was leap out of bed, and dash out into the real world. It had been so long since she had had a real conversation with anybody, or the taste of food. Just the thought made her stomach groan violently.  
"You're probably right. Can I start rehabilitation like tomorrow?"

The nurse glanced at her clipboard, "Yes, I think there is an opening in the morning shift. I'll sign you up for a nine o'clock appointment."

"Great," the pilot exclaimed excitedly, "but first I'd really enjoy a meal."

Abigail was a bit disappointed when all they brought her was a small bowl of soup, but they explained that anything heavier might not stay down. She persuaded them to compromise: She would eat the plain old bisque, but in trade she could go to the cafeteria to eat with other people. The nurse reluctantly agreed, and took her down in a wheelchair to the first floor.

"I can take it from here," Abigail said pushing herself along using the wheels. She received her soup, and started looking around for a place to sit. There was a seat next to a girl who was chatting with a boy, but she didn't seem like great company. There was another boy that she noticed. He had books piled high next to him, and when he smiled she noticed the metal line that braces made on his teeth. He's gotta be like thirty, she thought to herself.

After scanning pretty much the entire room she finally spotted a young man, about her age, that sat quietly with one other person across from him. His hair was dark, and he had the San Fransokyo Asian/American look to him. His face was handsome, but there something about his smile that just seemed to light up the room. It was genuine, not fake or falsely charming, just simply a enjoy-life kind of smile.

She calmly made her way in his direction and halted in front of his table, "Hi, do you mind if I pull up and eat?" When she was close enough, she saw scars; or burns more like. They had turned more of a pinkish color, but they stretched out like a protruding veins up the left side of his face. She could clearly see where the flames had licked his eye, leaving it a paling brown. The scars also went down his neck, and even his arms. They didn't ruin his friendly appearance, but it was obvious that something terrible had happened to him at one point.

The man pulled the seat next to him out of the way so she could roll up to the table, "Sure, go ahead."

"Thanks," she replied.

The guy that the scarred man was talking to got up, "I gotta get going, see you later."  
"See ya," he turned to the girl, " so...introduction?"

She set down her spoon, "Abigail. How about you?"

"Tadashi," he answered holding out a hand which she took gratefully. On his wrist, was an IV cord that ran up his arm. She didn't really get what it was for until she heard the heavy breaths he took in through his nose.

"Hey your, uh, kind of stopping the circulation in my wrist."  
Abigail abruptly let go, "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hold on for so long, or stare."  
He chuckled a bit, but she heard a hint of sadness in it. "That's okay, it's not the first time, and it certainly won't be the last." The statement did not make her feel better.

"Been here very long?" Tadashi inquired pushing his meal away.

"Well, technically five months, but actually awake, about an hour."

"I see."

They talked for a while, well Abigail knew she did most of the chatting. She began rattling off what she remembered from her childhood: Her mother dying, her father and her moving into the central part of the city, and the job he took at a college, her going to pilot school...

Tadashi grinned, "You're a pilot?"

"Yeah, my dad wanted me to put my talents toward inventing; but that was mostly just a hobby for me. Flying has always been my passion."

"That's pretty cool, actually I'm the opposite, I went into inventing. I attended the School of Robotics for a couple years," he said taking another bite of his soup.

Abigail pushed a strand of her chestnut brown hair out of her face, "No way! That was where my dad taught. You probably know-" she stopped short. What if he did know her father? He went to prison, what if it was for something horrible? As much as it sound selfish, she really didn't want her new friend to be aware that Robert was her dad.

"Actually, you may not," she said. It was pretty lame cover up, and she could tell that Tadashi had picked up on it.

He raised an eyebrow, "Really? Cuz you look familiar. What is your last name?"

Ugh, keeping secrets was not one of her strengths even if it was only a minute one. "Callaghan," it slipped out before she could stop her self. Abigail, you freakin idiot, you just said that you didn't anyone to know.

Tadashi's gaze started to lower, which made her feel worse than ever. He knew? How? Well it must've been on the news, no doubt.

"Oh, I-" his voice began to crack, "I'm so sorry,"he replied wistfully. The way that he said it, and the fact that his demeanor totally changed from the friendly attitude he had before threw Abigail off guard. After all, she had just met him so she wasn't exactly compelled to try and comfort him.

"There's no reason to be sorry," she tried assuring.

Tadashi shook his head, "No, but there is. I went into the fire to save him, but once I got in there the building exploded. I couldn't do anything, I could barely move, let alone save someone. Days later I was found by a group of kids that were messing around in the rubble. They took me here. When I finally gained consciousness, I was told that your father was killed."

How could he not know that Robert was taken to prison? She guess he just wasn't informed.

"Tadashi, my father was sent to jail five months ago. For what, I haven't been told."

His head came up, "I-I can't believe it, he's alive, but how?" That was when it clicked,

"The microbots. He used them to protect himself from the fire."

"Microbots?" She asked confused, "what on earth are they?"

Tadashi gave a slight grin, "They were an invention that were being displayed during the showcase." His smile disappeared, "Professor Callaghan being arrested though, I can't even imagine what for."

A man from the table behind them, not helping from hearing the conversation, turned to face them. "For thievery, arson, and attempt murder of four of his students and a young boy."

"Arson?" The Hamada boy gasped in disbelief, "you mean to tell me that he set that fire on purpose? I don't buy it, why the heck would he do that?"

The man put his hands in the air, "Excuse mister, but you wanted to know. The police report said that he stole an invention created by a candidate at his showcase."

Almost as soon as he said it, Tadashi got the gist: He stole the microbots and the little boy that he almost murdered was Hiro. That was it, he didn't care what the doctors said about his poor condition; he had to get back to his brother."


	2. Chapter 2

Hiro could hear the sirens from almost a mile away. It had become like a sixth sense to him, being able to tell when something was amiss in the busy streets of San Fransokyo.

"We should check it out," he said climbing onto Baymax's back. He always kept his flying suit under his college sweater, and he was able to cram his helmet into his backpack.

"I do not recommend it," the robot disapproved. Hiro rolled his eyes, of course he didn't, there was always something. That's what I get for having a medic robot as a sidekick.

"Wings," he instructed. The red panels flung out, and the thrusters began to whir beneath him.

"Hiro, you've already been late twice this week to class." He was right, but the sound of the police cars coming closer to his location totally blocked any ideas of going to his college class.

"We're preforming a public service," he grinned, "lets go." They took off into the air, but kept themselves just below skyline so they could track the activity below.

It appeared that the robber was in a vehicle, and was speeding through the street like a NASCAR driver. Whoever it was knew what he was doing,

Hiro pointed to the road where the bandit turned, "Dive, Baymax, we can cut him off." The wind accelerated dramatically, and the fifteen year old boy couldn't help but whoop with pure exhilaration. This is living, was the only thing that went through his head.

Baymax hovered over the escaping criminal's car, increased speed to get in front of it, and began to dig his feet into the asphalt ground.

The car squeaked when the metal bent in, and all Hiro could do was hold on so he wouldn't be flung out into traffic. Having to be peeled off the street was not on his to-do list for the day.

As the police showed up, they slammed on their breaks and came out to see the scene.

"Must've been Big Hero 6," one said. In front of them sat the robber; hands tied and a sock hanging out of his mouth, seeing as that was all Hiro could find in his backpack that would suffice for a gag.

" , you are late once again." His professor stated as Hiro entered the room.

"I know, I was held up...sort of."

"Well, I hope you studied up on nuclear astrophysics last night because as of now we are taking a pop quiz on the notes I just gave to the present class." Professor Gould began handing out papers, but stopped when he came to Hiro's desk.

"Hiro," he sighed gently, "you are a very bright boy; almost unbelievably brilliant, and I'm positive that in the back of your mind you already know that you're going to ace this quiz. You have an amazing gift, but you really are throwing it away with your reputation. You've been tardy at least five times every month, and I won't tolerate it. Punctuality is a very important attribute."

Hiro nodded, "I'll try and do better." The teacher put a hand on his shoulder as if to say 'I'm holding you to that', and walked off to deliver the next quiz.

After class, he went to his lab to meet up with his friends. All of them were already waiting patiently, except Fred who was practically touching everything in sight to find out what its function was.

"What is this?" He asked holding up a "foreign" object to the light.

Hiro took it away from him, and place it back in its drawer. "It's a toothbrush, I spent the night here a couple days ago to finish up a project."

"I've never seen one of those in my life," he said sitting back in a seat.

Gogo rolled her eyes, "Shocking," she then pulled out a file from her shoulder bag, "Anyway, the real reason why we are here, I was able to find the specs on the guy you caught this morning."

"What about him?"

"Apparently there was a video of the same guy talking to someone else who was accused of a crime last week."

Hiro shrugged, "Don't follow."

Honey Lemon stood up and gave Hiro two mug shots, "These men were caught, at different times, a couple months ago for two unrelated crimes. There's footage of them having a conversation days before as well, but they had no reason to be in contact." She pushed her glasses up her face, "Unless you listen to the video of both incidents, you'd think that these guys were just partners in crime."

"So what changes that?" Hiro inquired.

Gogo crossed her arms, "They were talking about their boss. Think about it, I mean, not many criminals have bosses. Plus, by their descriptions, it seems like both pair of men were working for the same guy."

Wasabi shook his head in disgust, "What wack job hires criminals?"

"Classic comic book villain, people." Fred said rubbing his hands together, "how do we catch him?" Hiro had no idea. How are you suppose to catch a villain if you didn't even know his name? Or even a theory of what his motives were.

"We could start by finding out who he is," Hiro suggested kind of feeling like he was stating the obvious.

Wasabi put a thumb up in the air, "Great plan. Except for one thing...I am not walking up to a robber and saying 'Hey, who do work for? We're trying to capture him oh and, by the way, we are Big Hero 6. Nice to meet you."

Hiro raised an eyebrow, "I was just thinking 'Who do you work for?', and you don't have to go in. I'll just go with Baymax. We are the ones that captured him for the authorities."

"No, then we'll get the police involved."

Hiro pursed his lips, but then something came to mind. "If this is the second occurrence in the matter of weeks; then there's bound to be a third one soon. We could set up cameras in all the alleys, and ghetto areas of town. This time we may get some more clues of who we're dealing with. It is kind of a risk, but it's better than doing nothing."

Fred smiled so hard it looked like his face was going to crack, "I like the sound of this. We'll be the eyes of San Fransokyo."

Gogo sighed, "We'll also be up all night setting up spy cameras. We better get on it."


	3. Chapter 3

Tadashi had just seemed to disappear after lunch. There was something about what the man said that made Abigail's new friend's mind click. She didn't understand what it was, but she intended to find out. Especially if it dealt with her dad.

She was on her way to her room when she noticed a door. The name on the plate said "Jason Chang: Found near the convention center in San Fransokyo.", but when she peered in the window she saw Tadashi. He was putting a few things in a bag as if he was going somewhere.

Abigail put a hand up, and knocked on the door. At first, he didn't answer but after a couple more taps he opened the entrance and held it open for her to wheel in.

"Thanks," she said, "I hope I'm not intruding; it looks like you're pretty busy."

He closed the door, strolled over to his bed, and sat on the end. "I have to go back."

Abigail gestured her head to the outside of the room, "Why does the name plate say Jason Chang?"

"The last patient in this room, I suppose."

"Yeah right," she put her hands in her lap and gave Tadashi an intent look, "so what really happened on the night of the showcase?"

The Hamada boy let out a long exhale and put his face in his hands. After a few seconds, he finally directed his attention back to her. "I actually didn't know what happened when I first got here. The doctors said I had a mild case of amnesia, but over the past eleven months or so; I've been able to piece things together. Now I can remember when I noticed the convention center was on fire.

"I went in to get your father out, but I didn't get very far. Someone had a display that involved a large tank of water and, because of all the pressure building up inside of the containment, it exploded and sent me flying. I must've hit the wall with my left side because that was where all my burns were. It was hard to tell what happened after that, but I could hear the building collapse. When they got me here, they couldn't figure out who I was; so they just gave me the identity of Dylan Chang."

Abigail put a hand on his shoulder, "Tadashi, I'm really sorry. I do have a question though: Why are you deciding to go back now? Why not earlier?"

"I didn't have the entire story yet, but this morning when the guy mentioned a little boy almost murdered I somehow knew exactly who it was."

"Who?"

He stood and slung his bag over his shoulder, "Hiro, my little brother. When the name finally surfaced, almost my entire past came to light. The doctors weren't going to let me leave because, they weren't sure how they were going to get me back into the world." He smiled a bit, "now they don't have an excuse to keep me. I can go home," then he frowned, "Wherever home is."

Abigail was elated for him, but she couldn't help but think of herself being stuck at the hospital. The thought alone made her feel lonely, and she had enough time for solitariness when she was stuck in the time-travel capsule. To leave the hospital, and go back to the city, meant a chance at a new life. She could start over: Make new friends, get a new job, possibly even settle down one day. But first, she needed to get to the city before planning the next ten years of her life.

"Tadashi," she inquired, "please let me go with you."

He pursed his lips, "What about your therapy?"

"The best way I get over things is by moving on and walking it out; not doing exercises to remind me of what happened. If I don't go now I'll be stuck here for another three months," Abigail smirked,"C'mon, it'll be fun, we'll both be ghosts strolling around the city together."

Tadashi smiled at the prospect, "I guess I really can't stop you."

"Nope."

"That wheelchair might though."

She snorted and stood up, "I never needed it; my nurse scolded me everytime I attempted to get out."

They both laughed and Tadashi headed for the door, "Go get your stuff and I'll meet at the front desk."

Abigail left the wheelchair, and fled to her room where she gathered her few things. She changed into the black t-shirt, and tan knee-length pants that she had worn under her pilot outfit.

When she got to the front desk, Tadashi was already signed out.

"Can I help you?" The woman asked Abigail as she approached the desk.

"Yes, I want to check out as well. Oh, and, cancel my therapy appointment for tomorrow." The nurse typed a few things in before looking up.

"Sign here please," she said handing Abigail a clipboard. She did, but she faltered as she finished signing her name. Abbey, you do know you're about to travel with a guy you don't even know.

"You coming?" Tadashi asked. He was standing by the door giving her a curious look, and she realized that she was staring.

"Um, yeah, sorry." She caught up to his side, and they began to leave the hospital.  
"So, where are we going once we reach the main part of the city?"

His shoulder slouched a bit, "I'm not really sure." Bad sign, run while you still can. "If I could remember anything, I'd say start from where I know; but nothing is coming to mind."

Abigail put a hand on her stomach, "Ok, well, we can start from where I know. I am famished, and that hospital food didn't settle with me very well. The Lucky Cat Cafe is not far from here."

Tadashi's eyebrows furrowed, "Say the name again."

"The Lucky Cat Cafe."

His brown eyes lit up, "Yes, Aunt Cass!"

"You know Miss Cassandra?"

"Yeah, she took Hiro and I in when our parents died. She's not our real aunt, but she couldn't be more like family." Tadashi's face, as he said that, was almost distant as if a flood of memories had just rushed into his head. He took in a deep breath, "Well, here we go."

*. *. *  
Everything looked the same. Abigail couldn't imagine how much the city hadn't changed. Sure there were a few new buildings, but that was to be expected. She knew she shouldn't feel out of her time, but she couldn't help it.

They walked across the street after taking a bus into town, and made their way to the entrance of the Lucky Cat. Abigail could sense Tadashi tensing up with nervousness.

"You worried?" Stupid question for her to ask, she knew that, but she wanted him to answer honestly.

"Are you kidding? I've never been so nervous in my life." he said, "What are you suppose to say after being dead for over a year? Especially to your family."

She shrugged, "I have a feeling you'll know what to say. No doubt they'll be shocked, but you can't stay away any longer." With that, they opened the door which clinked against a bell. Costumers sat happily in the cafe chairs chatting with friends and family. The atmosphere was so familiar to the Hamada boy. The smell of his aunt's cooking tickled his nose with a beckoning sensation. There was simply a welcoming feel to that place that completely wiped any doubts Tadashi had about being back.

"Can I help you?" There she was as if he had never left. She looked a bit tired, but the fatigue did nothing to her pleasant smile that stretched across her face.

"Aunt Cass," he said returning the grin.

The whole room seemed to disappear, and any other noise simply dissipated into thin air. It took her a few seconds, but once she realized who her new customer was she stepped back in shock.

Tadashi gave a lop-sided smile, "Hi again. Um...I this must be quite a surprise, but I thought..." Abigail was wrong, he didn't know what to say.

Cassandra put her hands up to her mouth and gasped. At first, Tadashi thought that she was going to run off, but she strolled calmly up to him and smacked him across the face with shocking ferocity.

"What were you thinking, knucklehead!" She shouted as if no one was present.

Tadashi put a hand up to caress his throbbing cheek; he should've known that was coming. He didn't want to explain why he had been gone for so long without contacting. Instead, he threw his arms firmly around her, "I missed you too." Eventually, she hugged him back and they stood there for a few minutes making up for the embraces they had missed for the last year.

"Have you seen Hiro yet," she asked letting go.

Tadashi scratched the back of his neck, "No, where is he?"

"Probably finishing his last college class for the day."

He couldn't help but feel proud; Hiro did pursue his inventing career after all. "Thanks, I think I'll wait here. I want to go to the room."

"Alright, it's your funeral," she said walking away, "I'll make you something to eat."

"Okay," he answered. He was surprised that she hadn't caught the "pun" that she had unintentionally made. They most likely did have his funeral; he laughed as it came to mind. Before, the thought would've brought him to tears, but he was home...the word felt almost foreign.

"Tadashi," Abigail said, "I think I'll order some food, and then I'll go so you can get settled in."

"Are you sure? You can stay if you want."

"No, I couldn't. Maybe tomorrow I can meet you at the robotics lab at the school. Say around noon?"

He nodded, "Yeah, sure, see you then." He started ascending the stairs but turned to face her once more, "By the way, thank you."

She gave a winning smile, "Thank you, Tadashi Hamada."

He waved goodbye, and then dashed up the stairs. Getting to the top, he raised an eyebrow. The desk that had once been covered with robot fight pamphlets, was littered with small screens that acted as windows to the rest of the city.

"What in the world?" Was all that he think to say. Most of the screens showed random streets, alleys, and even storefronts. Tadashi glanced over them curiously, but he couldn't even figure out what he was looking at. Why would Hiro have cameras of the city?

On one of the screens two men stood leaning against the walls of opposite buildings. They didn't appear to have any reason to be there.

The man on the right side was tall and brawny, "Any more instructions?"

The left side man was much shorter than the other, but he looked strong and lithe. "No, same orders. I scouted the apartment complex this morning. How about you?"

"Phyllis is in play."

"Phyllis? Who the crap is that?"

The tall, but not very smart man, smiled. "You know the boom thing."

"How you got this job I'll never know," the shorter man said shaking his head and sighing. "Well, anyway, as long as the jobs are done and the boss is happy we're good."

Tadashi was still confused; the men were up to something, that much was obvious, but what could it be? It sounded like they were working for someone. But his questioning always went back to Hiro. What was he up to?

In the middle of his thinking, about ten miles away, silence had come over the office building as someone recognized a slight beeping sound. A man stood and smoothed the creases in his suit nervously. He told everyone else, as placidly as he could, to not move and stay still. He placed his hand on the eggshell, white wall and leaned in his head so his ear touched the surface. Beep beep. The sounds became quicker, and so did the thumping of the man's heart. He turned and yelled to his coworkers to get out, but in the middle of his sentence Phyllis went off.


	4. Chapter 4

_Hey guys, thanks for your patience, I've been really busy. This chapter is bit shorter than the others, but I hope you still enjoy it. Thank you for all your support! I'll try and update soon._

Hiro ran a hand through his dark, wild hair and sat back against his seat. It was going to be a long night. He regretted putting off the class project with every passing minute, but he had been so busy with Big Hero 6 and...

"C'mon Hiro, that's been your excuse for everything ever since you started," he told himself. When he had first begun making it a regular thing he thought, "How hard could it be?"

"Obviously, a little more difficult than anticipated." He threw the blueprint he had been sketching on into the trash in complete disgust. There was no way he could complete an extensive prototype of an artificial intelligence's brain in one week, let alone one day. The more he contemplated it, the more he got frustrated with himself.

"Hey," Gogo greeted walking into the boy's work area. Hiro hadn't heard her open the door, and was a bit startled on seeing her.

"Oh, hi," he said bluntly. He tried not to let his anger or fatigue show, but it clearly did by the look on the girl's face.

"How's your project coming?" She asked even though she knew the answer, "I think Professor Gould enjoys the suspense almost as much as the students dread the due date."

Hiro snorted, "I think you're absolutely right. He gets that evil look in his eye like he's going to start cackling like a witch." They both smiled.

Gogo put her hands on her hips, "Go home, Hiro, it's getting late and it looks like you'll need a fresh start in the morning."

The boy wasn't going to protest; he was extremely tired and the thought of bed made his feet sway slightly, almost putting him off balance.

He let out a yawn, "You're right, I guess I'll see you tomorrow." He loaded his books and personal tools into his back, and then awoke Baymax.

"Hello, Hiro and Gogo." The robot said as it came to life.

"Hey, buddy, c'mon we're leaving." The two bade farewell to their friend, and headed for the exit of the building.

The sky had grown dark and the moon, barely invisible because of the thick smoggy air, desperately clawed at the thick clouds with its silver beams of light. In the daytime, the zero-gravity wind turbines blew away the smog, but at night they shut down leaving the people who looked up at night wondering if stars even existed.

Hiro sighed heavily as he rode Baymax's back, and tried to forget his problems. He did not want to give up Big Hero 6, and he wouldn't, but he needed to figure out someway of making it more manageable. He thought of Tadashi, and what he'd say. He'd most likely advise that Hiro was doing a great thing, but he also must think for himself. He'd remind him of all his personal goals and talents that he could put into good use.

"I miss you," he said to the sky as if his big brother was looking down upon him. Was he pleased? Probably not, telling by his performance at school.

He dove into the florescent lights of San Fransokyo, and landed right outside of his aunt's cafe. He walked around to the side of the townhouse, opened the garage, and put Baymax on his charger. He then removed his helmet, and headed back to the front door because the entrance to the home from inside the garage was locked up for the night.

The front door was locked as well, but Aunt Cass was sitting at one of the tables and jumped to her feet when she saw the boy. The door flew open, and she came out in surprising hurry.

"Hiro, it's so late! Where have you been?"

He lazily shrugged his shoulders, "Working at the lab. I'm going up to bed."

"Well, can I bring you something to eat?"

"No thanks," he answered, "I'm not very hungry." He started through the door when Cassandra caught his wrist, which startled him a bit; suddenly he felt more awake.

"Hiro," she started to explain, "something has happened."

"Not bad, I hope."

"No, actually..." she trailed off when she noticed something behind Hiro.

"Aunt Cass, what is it?" He had this feeling, like someone was behind him, but the presence was familiar and almost distant. Hiro wasn't sure how to describe it, but a hundred memories came flooding into his head: The traumatic car crash that killed his parents and sent him and Tadashi to the hospital, a woman coming to tell them that they were going to be fine, Tadashi taking him into a warm embrace and putting his trusty ball cap on his little brother's head.

Hiro wanted to turn around so bad, but he was afraid of what he'd find. What if it wasn't who he thought it was? Or he was so damaged from the fire that he didn't even recognize him.

"Hiro," the voice said. The tone was as soft as his brother's, and had that concerned edge to it.

Tears began welling up by the bucket fulls in the boy's eyes, but he still couldn't make himself face the voice. A small sob escaped his lips, and before long, a pair of strong arms wrapped around him and pulled him in just like they had so long ago.

"It's me," Tadashi chided reassuringly.

Hiro gave in, embraced him back, and cried like he would've when he was a child. Then, after a bit, he finally opened his eyes to see Tadashi giving him a smile. Aunt Cass had tears streaming her face, but a joyful grin was permanently on her lips.

"You died," Hiro pointed out stepping back.

Tadashi scratched the back of his neck, "Um, well, I couldn't have seeing as I'm here. I did give it my best shot though." He said it to be lighthearted, but the statement didn't wipe the frown off the boy.

"If you've been alive all this time, then why did you never come back?"

"It's kind of a long story," Tadashi admitted.

But before he could say anything Aunt Cass butted between the boys, "Which I would love to hear over some coffee and donuts."

They started inside when Tadashi suddenly thought of something, "Wait, Hiro, you drink coffee now? Wow, I have been away awhile."

Hiro chuckled, "Very funny, but it doesn't really make me hyper, just very talkative."

"Oh, joy."


End file.
